Vertical transfer device for tire assembly line

ABSTRACT

A transfer device is provided for transferring tires from a tire conveyor line to a wheel conveyor line. The transfer device includes first and second surfaces rotatable with respect to one another. The first surface can receive tires from the tire conveyor line. A rotating device rotates the first surface to induce movement of the tire to the second surface. The second surface can receive the tire from the first surface and rotate toward the wheel conveyor to position the tire to engage the wheel.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This Application claims the benefit of the provisional patentapplication 60/460,837 for a VERTICAL TRANSFER DEVICE FOR TIRE ASSEMBLYLINE, filed on Apr. 4, 2003, which is hereby incorporated by referencein its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to the assembly of tires to wheels and, morespecifically, the invention relates to a device for transferring a tirefrom a tire conveyor line to a wheel conveyor line.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Numerous assembly lines for mounting tires upon wheels are known in theprior art and are widely used today in the automotive industry.Generally, the assembly lines, known in the art, contain conveyingmeans, such as conveyor belts or metal rollers making it possible toroute the tires, wheels and mounted assemblies, respectively, from onepoint to another on the assembly line. The tires and wheels aredelivered from a supply warehouse by means of suitable pallets to befurther mounted on the assembly line and delivered to customers. Thetires and wheels are typically treated by the lubrication solutionbefore the tire is installed on the wheel.

Various automated equipment and systems have been previously recognizedto use a loader assembly that facilitates the transfer of the tires froman upper conveyance device to a lower conveyance device. For example,one of these systems is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,209,684 to Kane et al.These automated systems have limited capabilities to monitor thediameter of the tire, thereby lacking ability to control the tires ofdifferent heights and prevent the tires from escaping beyond the loaderarea, thereby keeping the tires within the loader.

Accordingly, the opportunity remains for a new design of the loaderhaving a device capable of adjusting the width of various tires, therebykeeping the tires within the loader on the factory's floor.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

The present invention provides a transfer device for moving tiresbetween a first conveyor line and a second conveyor line. The deviceincludes a first surface for receiving tires from the first conveyorline. The device also includes a rotating device for rotating the firstsurface relative to the first conveyor line. A second surface of thedevice receives the tires from the first surface after the first surfaceis rotated. The device also includes a second rotating device forrotating the second surface toward the second conveyor. The secondsurface positions the tires to be received by a wheel moving along thesecond conveyor line.

One of the advantages of the present invention is that tires can beefficiently moved from the first conveyor line to the second conveyorline. In particular, the first surface retains a tire while a secondtire is positioned by the second surface to engage a wheel moving alongthe second conveyor. As soon as the tire is received by the wheel, thefirst surface is rotated to move another tire into position on thesecond surface to engage a second wheel moving along the secondconveyor. The second conveyor is rotated to precisely position the tiresto engage one of a plurality of different configurations of wheelsmoving along the second conveyor.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other advantages of the present invention will be readily appreciated asthe same becomes better understood by reference to the followingdetailed description when considered in connection with the accompanyingdrawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is an overhead schematic view of the exemplary embodiment of thetransfer device according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a detailed side view of the transfer device;

FIG. 3 is a top view of a portion of the transfer device defining afirst surface; and

FIG. 4 is a top view showing a portion of the transfer device defining asecond surface.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring now to FIG. 1, the present invention provides a transferdevice 10 for moving tires including a first conveyor 12 for movingtires and a second conveyor 14 for moving wheels. The first conveyor 12is positioned above the second conveyor 14. The device 10 also includesa first surface 16 for receiving a tire 18 from the first conveyor 12. Afirst rotating device 20 rotates the first surface 16 upwardly from thefirst conveyor 12 pivoting generally adjacent axis 26 in response to thefirst surface 16 receiving the tire 18. The tire 18 moves from the firstsurface 16 when the first surface 16 is rotated upwardly by the firstrotating device 20 and is received by a second surface 22. A secondrotating device 24 rotates the second surface 22 towards the secondconveyor 14 by pivoting the second surface adjacent axis 26 in responseto the second surface 22 receiving the tire 18 from the first surface16. Therefore, the surfaces 16, 22 are rotated about a common axis 26 aswill be explained further below.

A controller 28 controls the first and second rotating devices 20, 24independently of one another to enhance the efficiency of the movementof the tires from the first conveyor 12 to the second conveyor 14. Forexample, the first surface 16 retains a first tire 18 a while the secondsurface 22 positions a second tire 18 b for engagement with a wheel 14moving along with the second conveyor 14. As soon as the second tire 18engages the wheel 14 and is removed from the second surface 22, therotating device 20 quickly rotates the first surface 16 upwardly to movethe first tire 18 a to the second surface 22. Once the first tire 18 ais received by the second surface 22, the first surface 16 is rotatedback into alignment with the first conveyor 12 to receive another tire18 from the first conveyor 12.

The device 10 also includes a tire soaper device 30 positioned along thefirst conveyor 12 and a wheel soaper device 32 positioned along thesecond conveyor 14. The respective soaped tires 18 and soaped wheels 14are joined along the second conveyor 14 adjacent the second surface 22and move along the conveyor 14 to a tire assembly and inflation station34. Other workstations, such as valve stem insertion station or a tireinflation testing workstation, can be disposed upstream or downstream ofthe transfer device 10 as required.

Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 3, the device 10 according to a moredetailed embodiment of the invention includes a first portion 36defining the first surface 16. The first portion 36 includes a frame 38supporting a plurality of first rollers 40 (FIG. 3) and a plurality ofsecond rollers 42. The first rollers 40 extend the width of the frame 38and rotate about an axis transverse to the first conveyor 12, such asaxis 44. Each of the plurality of second rollers 42 rotate about an axisthat is parallel to the conveyor 12, such as axis 46. The outer surfacesof the rollers 40, 42 define the first surface 16 and facilitatemovement of the tire 18 from the first conveyor 12.

The first portion 36 is rotatable about the axis 26. As shown best inFIG. 2, the first portion 36 is rotatable between a first position(shown in solid line) and a second position (shown in phantom). In thefirst position, the first surface 16 is substantially horizontal andaligned with the conveyor 12 to receive the tire 18. In the secondposition, the first surface 16 is rotated about the axis 26 and the tire18 slides to the second surface 22. During movement of the tire 18 fromthe conveyor 12 to the surface first 16, the tire 18 is supported formovement by the rollers 40. During movement of the tire 18 from thefirst surface 16 to the second surface 22, the tire 18 is supported formovement by the rollers 42. A guide member 48 guides the tire 18 duringmovement between the first and second surfaces, 16, 22 by preventing thetire 18 from sliding off the first surface 16.

As best shown in FIG. 2, the device 10 includes a first rotating device20 for rotating the first surface 16. The first rotating device 20includes cylinder 50 connected to a member 52 of the portion 36 by abracket 54. The cylinder 50 includes a rod 56. Extension of the rod 56from the cylinder 50 moves the surface 16 from the first position to thesecond position. Retraction of the rod 56 from the cylinder 50 moves thesurface 16 from the second position to the first position. The cylinder50 can be a pneumatic cylinder or a hydraulic cylinder. Alternatively,the rotating device 20 can include electric servomotor and a ball screw.

Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 4, the device 10 also includes a secondportion 58 defining the second surface 22. The second portion 58includes a frame 60 and a plurality of rollers 62. The second portion 58is rotatable about the axis 26 by the second rotating device 24. Therotating device 24 includes a cylinder 64 having a rod 66. Extension ofthe rod 66 from the cylinder 64 moves the portion 58 to a first position(shown in phantom). As shown in FIG. 2, the first position of the secondportion 58 is substantially aligned with the second position of thefirst portion 36. The second portion 58 receives the tire 18 from thefirst portion 36 while in the first position and is rotated about theaxis 26 to the second position (shown in solid line) to deliver the tire18 b to the wheel 76. The extension of the rod 66 moves the secondportion 58 to the first position and retraction of the rod 66 moves thesecond portion 58 to the second position.

As best seen in FIG. 4, the second portion 58 includes first and secondarms 68, 70 for controlling movement of the tire 18. Specifically, thearm 68 rotates about an axis 72 and the arm 70 rotates about an axis 74.The arms 68, 70 are rotated toward one another to maintain the positionof the tire 18 during engagement with a wheel 76. The arms 68, 70 rotateaway from one another to release the tire 18 b after the tire hasengaged the wheel 76. As shown in FIG. 2, the wheel 76 moves along thesecond conveyor 14 and engages the tire 18 b when the second portion 58is located in the second position.

Obviously, many modifications and variations of the present inventionare possible in light of the above teachings. The invention may bepracticed otherwise than as specifically described within the scope ofthe appended claims. These antecedent recitations should be interpretedto cover any combination in which the incentive novelty exercises itsutility. In addition, the reference numerals in the claims are merelyfor convenience and are not to be read in any way as limiting.

1. A transfer device for moving tires comprising: a first conveyor formoving tires; a second conveyor for moving wheels; a first surface forreceiving a tire from said first conveyor; a first rotating device forrotating said first surface away from said first conveyor in response tosaid first surface receiving the tire; a second surface for receivingthe tire from said first surface in response to rotation of said firstsurface; and a second rotating device for rotating said second surfacetoward said second conveyor in response to said second surface receivingthe tire from said first surface.
 2. The transfer device of claim 1including a first axis about which both said first and second surfacesrotate.
 3. The transfer device of claim 1 including a controller forcontrolling said first and second rotating devices independently of oneanother.
 4. The transfer device of claim 1 including a plurality ofrollers defining said first surface, said plurality of rollers include afirst set of rollers rotatable about a first roller axis and a secondset of rollers rotatable about a second axis wherein said first andsecond axis are transverse with respect to one another.
 5. The transferdevice of claim 1 including a holding device for selectively holding thetire received by the second surface and releasing the tire to the secondconveyor, wherein the holding device includes first and second armsrotatable with respect to one another between a holding position and areleased position.
 6. A method for moving tires comprising: moving tiresalong a first conveyor; moving wheels along a second conveyor; receivinga tire from said first conveyor with a first surface; rotating saidfirst surface away from said first conveyor in response to said firstsurface receiving the tire with a first rotating device; receiving thetire from said first surface in response to rotation of said firstsurface with a second surface; and rotating said second surface towardsaid second conveyor in response to said second surface receiving thetire from said first surface with a second rotating device.
 7. Themethod of claim 6 including extending the first and second conveyorstransverse with respect to one another.
 8. The method of claim 6including rotating the first and second surfaces independently of oneanother.
 9. The method of claim 6 including delivering the tire to awheel.
 10. The method of claim 6 including releasing the tire from thesecond surface.
 11. The method of claim 6 removing the tire from thesecond surface by indexing the conveyor.
 12. A transfer device fortransferring tires from a tire line to a wheel assembly line comprising:a first surface pivotable between a first plane and a second planewherein said first plane is generally incidental with said tire line;and a second surface pivotable between a third plane and a fourth planewherein said third plane is incidental with said second plane forreceiving the tire from said first surface, and said fourth plane iscooperable with said wheel line for delivering the tire to said wheelassembly line.
 13. The transfer device according to claim 12 including afirst axis about which both said first and second surfaces rotate. 14.The transfer device of claim 12 including a first rotating device forrotating said first surface and a second rotating device for rotatingsaid second surface.
 15. The transfer device of claim 14 including acontroller for controlling said first and second rotating devicesindependently of one another.
 16. The transfer device of claim 15wherein each of said first and second rotating devices include acylinder and a rod extendable from said cylinder.
 17. The transferdevice of claim 15 wherein said second rotating device for rotating saidsecond surface is positioned beneath said first surface.
 18. Thetransfer device of claim 12 including a plurality of rollers definingsaid first surface, said plurality of rollers include a first set ofrollers rotatable about a first roller axis and a second set of rollersrotatable about a second axis wherein said first and second axis aretransverse with respect to one another.
 19. The transfer device of claim12 including a holding device for selectively holding the tire receivedby the second surface and releasing the tire to the second conveyor,wherein the holding device includes first and second arms rotatable withrespect to one another between a holding position and a releasedposition.